Othello | The Kingsmen
Written by Liza Dezfouli
Thursday, 10 June 2010 11:02

The geometric 90s looking set design tell you immediately that you’re in for something new and different with this production of Othello. The windows of the theatre space at 45 Downstairs are festooned with tapes of black and primary colours, suggesting the bars of a prison, the narrow window openings of a castle, or the timbers of a ship. Lighting is simple and there are few props. The action happens on the bodies of the actors, tightly choreographed into a piece that at times almost veers into dance. The actors tumble and roll; there is clowning and buffoonery a-plenty. The extensive development of a vocabulary of body language provides an original and vivacious aspect to this presentation of Othello’s dark story. The marrying of Shakespeare to physical theatre is an ambitious undertaking with a whole new level of performance to keep track of along with the demands of the language. It does make for a particular effort from the audience and, although the physical aspect is meticulously designed to support the script, the clowning is at times distracting; it may be that the cast hadn’t quite settled into the form and was having to work hard to deliver the story on so many levels.

AS A 1.9-metre-tall Tongan, 27-year-old actor Anthony Taufa is very conscious of resisting typecasting. ”I’ve always said I’m more than a security guard,” says Taufa, who has just graduated from NIDA’s prestigious acting course.

”I want to show the world that Islanders are as liberal and complex as any other nationality in Australia. ”I do want vulnerable roles, I do want to be in love, to do romantic leads.”

But there is one role Taufa happily accepts as his lot in life: Othello, the Moor of Venice. At 27, he is about to play the 50-something soldier for the fourth time, as the lead in The Kingsmen’s production at fortyfivedownstairs.

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